The Not So Green Poinsettia

Posted by Sharon Demmery on July 28, 2017

Poinsettia Plants look stunning and with their brilliant red flowers and striking green leaves they really do fit in with a traditional Christmas theme in home or office. But Poinsettia plants are not the greenest of plants and although Poinsettias look stunning those who know and those who care understand that Poinsettia farming is an energy sapping operation.

Even without considering the green aspects of a fresh versus artificial Poinsettia the silk flower has a number of positives and pretty much wins hands down. A silk Poinsettia is as good as maintenance free, no dead leaves, no need to water and no making sure it sits in the right place with not too much and not too little sunlight. Truly a fresh potted Poinsettia is the Goldilocks of all house plants.

A silk or artificial Poinsettia looks real, and it will deceive many, and will add colour to wherever it sits in a room, colour that will never fade.

And of course a Silk Poinsettia is very much a more environmentally friendly plant. It is hard to believe that a plant that so many have given as gifts or simply purchased because they look so stunning is actually farmed in a not so green manner.

Poinsettias are farmed in huge greenhouses beginning with live cuttings that are then warmed and watered to almost force the growth in time for the Christmas season, yes Poinsettias are considered to have a season. This process is energy and water intensive that is not very green. Then one needs to consider the transport of the plants, often over some distance, and the carbon footprint that leaves.

Poinsettias are pretty but the modern farming and its associated carbon footprint takes away some of the red charm. Many Poinsettia plants have to be destroyed each season as well and many are not composted but simply thrown into landfills. Landfills sites do not act as a compost and thus any value from the disposed of plant is not given back to Mother Nature.

The silk Poinsettia has none of this, nearly all the materials used in the manufacture of silk and artificial flowers are produced in green factories using renewable resources. The silk flower from an environmental aspect makes absolute sense but then one needs to think just a little wider and broader. A silk Poinsettia lasts pretty much foever and can thus be used time and time again.

Silk flowers make decorating your home or work space easy, green and affordable. In our books and Silk Poinsettia is a winner and we encourage you to give one a try and then look at the amazement on the faces of your friends as they realise it is not real.